I am officially on leave from Charting Today till New Year. That too, If I am not too drunk to go back to work after the New Year’s Party.
Ok, wait, there is NO New Year party and I don’t drink.
Oh wells, I am TWO days away from stuffing myself silly with cute little pecan tarts that Riya is gonna be making for Christmas. Ho ho ho!
Right now, there are 1001 things running in my head. It is going to be a busy week. I actually have the whole week lined up.
- Monday – Clear the storeroom.
- Tuesday – Marketing.
- Wednesday – Make Xmas desserts and marinade the roast beef.
- Thurs – Cook the Xmas dinner and PARTIE.
- Friday – Make wedding cakes and cupcakes while eating the leftover pecan tarts. Make desserts for Saturday.
- Saturday – Cook for the mini henna ceremony and munch on a couple of pecan tarts for energy.
- Sun – THE wedding.
- Monday – Sleep till Wednesday.
On top of that, I still have to purchase the hand bouquet for the bride, accessories for the flower girl (niece) and find a suitable song for my brother when he is walking down the aisle. *Feeling emotional already*
My brother’s wedding and Christmas happening in the same week is enough to keep me on my toes. After the wedding, I am gonna be unreachable for the next 48 hours. Kindly take note. *inserts sleeping emoticon*
Did I tell you guys that we would be having an ice cream station at the wedding?!! THERE WOULD BE AN ICE CREAM GUY SCOOPING AND HANDLING OUT ICE CREAM IN CUPS AND CONES! I am sorry for shouting but Ice Cream always does that to me. I am most probably gonna end up being really good friends with the ice cream man because we would surely be hanging out a lot during the wedding. (Read: I would be eating a lot of ice cream) It is just to keep me charged up. Ice cream = energy and when you are the only sister of the groom, you needs loads of energy to keep you going. (Weeee… more ice cream for me)
Anyways, I am glad that I am done with the Christmas Gifts. Okay, fine. I am probably about 80% done. Gonna get help from Zalora online for the remaining 20%. Hail to online shopping. Those who say that money can’t buy happiness, have never tried online shopping.
On another note, last week, when the family was away on a trip, my cousin, Suhaila came over and we cooked lunch together. She is residing in Australia most of the times and being able to actually cook and sit down together for a meal was something that is of a rare occurrence. We had Meatballs in Creamy Sauce, Couscous, Avocado and Snow Pea Salad, Orzo and Grilled Chicken and Brown Sugar Custard.
It felt like a mini Xmas celebration.
The Baked Chicken and Orzo was a new recipe that we tried that day. Orzo is also known as risoni in Italian and it a pasta shaped like rice. It is perfect for salads, soups or served with a side of chicken or beef. Since it was a new recipe, I was quite skeptical that it wouldn’t work out as expected. My concerns were unwarranted because the dish was delicious and kinda fun to prepare.
The chicken pieces are browned first. You then saute a couple of things with the orzo, pour some stock, top with the chicken pieces and it remains in the oven for the next 30 minutes. The chicken pieces, stock and mushrooms added so much flavor to the orzo. This Baked Chicken and Orzo is pretty easy to prepare and it is the thing to make when you have guests over.
We served the orzo with a delicious salad drizzled with an Asian dressing which my cousin made. The avocado and snow peas salad was absolutely delicious! I have never eaten raw snow peas and they were so sweet and crunchy in the salad. Absolutely gorgeous! My cousin makes good salads and she takes extra efforts in making the salads pretty too. For the recipe of this salad, hop over to her blog.
So what are you gonna be cooking up this Xmas? If you need to try something new, do give this orzo a try. It is fairly easy to prepare and it is the PERFECT recipe for Christmas. Yes perfect with a capital P to T.
- 60 g butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 chicken breasts ( I used a mixed of breast and thighs)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 250 g fresh button mushrooms, sliced,
- 1 16 oz package orzo
- 32 oz chicken stock
- Fresh herbs (I used a mix of thyme and rosemary)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to season
- A handful of cherry tomatoes
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Season the chicken with salt and black pepper.
- In large skillet, heat 4 tbsp of oil and brown the chicken in batches for about 4 minutes on each side.
- Transfer to a plate and keep aside.
- In a large pot, add the 2 tbsp of olive oil and butter.
- Add onions and fry for 3 minutes.
- Mix in garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute.
- Add mushrooms and herbs. Cook until the mushrooms just begin to soften.
- Mix in smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper.
- Add orzo and stir until orzo is lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Place orzo into a baking dish/cast iron pot and top with the chicken pieces and cherry tomatoes
- Pour chicken stock over orzo and chicken and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the orzo is cooked.
- Serve hot.
Very interesting dish. Would other pasta be o.k for this dish?
Yes any small pasta would work. You might just need to add more liquid and increase the cooking time though. 🙂
I love this recipe! I have made it several times and it always comes out amazing! Thanks for sharing 😉
Glad you liked it!! I love how easy it is 🙂